Speaker unit and support therefor



Dec. 1, 1931. J. E. RIGALI SPEAKER UNIT AND SUPPORT THEREFOR Filed Nov. 21, 1930 Hn ER gah) Patented Dec. 1, 1931 I UNITED STATES PAT ENT, OFFICE OHN ItTGALI, OF CHICAGO, .ILl'i-ILTOIS, .ASIGNOR TO DA PRATO STATUABY COMPANY,

" OF CHICAGO, ILLINOISA CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS SPEAKER UNIT AND surronr'rnnnnron Application filed November 21, 1930. Serial No. 497,088.

The invention has reference to speaker no part of the present invention and may be units employed in connection with sound Changed, modified, or altered as themanuamplifying systems, radio receiving circuits facturerinay see fit to produce anassembly and similar devices an-d'the general aim of which, in appearance, is entirely in harmony the present invention is to provide a houswith the surroundings in which the device mg for such a unit and means for supporting is to be mounted. said housing, which elements are pleasing and lVith particular reference to Figs. 1 and 2, ornamental in appearance and are arranged l0 designates generally the support and 11 to permit of adjustment of the housing to the housing of the assembly. The support 10 meet the acoustic requirements of the audi- 10 comprisesa base portion 12 having a pair torium in which the device is used. of spaced members 13 extending therefrom An object'of the invention is to provide a and the ornamentation of the support is such new and improved means for supporting the as to embody this construction or the equivspeakerunit of a sound amplifying system alent thereof. Thus, in the present instance,

15 which is capable of substantially universal the ornamentation is in the form of a winged adjustment. head, that is to say, a head (comprising the More specifically stated, an object of the base 12), from either side of which wings present invention resides in the provision of (constituting the members 13) project a housing for a loud speaker unit and a supobliquely upwardly. This support may port for said housing, which housing and suphave a fiat back which is not clearly illustratport are pleasingly ornamental in appearance, ed but would be located substantially at the preferably in conformity with the decorative position designated by the numeral 14. The scheme ofthe hall or auditorium in which back is arranged to abut against a wall or the device is used, said housing being subother vertical surface to which the support stantially in the form of a sphere and said 10 is to be secured in any suitable manner support having a socket'therein to receive (not shown). The top of the base 12 and said sphere whereby. a substantially univerthe inner opposed portions of the members sal' adjustment of the housing may be at- 13 adjacent the base are arcuately recessed, tained. as at 15 (Fig. 3), to present an upwardly I 30 Other objects and advantages will become opening socket of spherical contour.

apparent from the following description and The mechanical parts of the speaker unit in the accompanying drawings, in which: which have been diagrammatically illustrat- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a mounting ed at 16 (Fig. 3) are entirely enclosed within for a speaker unit embodying the features the housing 11. This housing is, in this emof the present invention. bodiment, substantially in the shape of a Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof slightly sphere which has the same radius of curvain perspective. ture' as the radius of the recessed portion 15 Fig. 3 is a central transverse section of the of the support. One part of the sphere is device taken substantially on the line 33 of cut-away to provide an open front face 17 Fig. 2. constituting a sound emission opening, which Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front elevation of a opening is closed in a customary manner by modified form of the invention. a screen 18 or the like. At a suitable point, In describing the invention, reference is which preferably is diametrically op osed had to the drawings in which I have shown from the open front face, the casing is ivida housing for a speaker unit and a support edto provide areinovable portion 19. This for said housing. It will be seen that the construction allows access to the-interior of housing and support embody a highly'decothe casing for repair or adjustment of the rative and ornamental design but it will be mechanical parts of the speaker, the removunderstood that this design, with the excepable portion 19 being normally held in place 51 tion of certain features of construction, forms by fastening devices 20 of anysuitable char- 109 acter. Externally the housing 11 is ornamented to conform and harmonize with the decorative scheme of the support 10, thus providing a structure which is pleasing in appearance.

It will be evident from the foregoing that the snug complementary inter-fitting arrangement of the parts allows the housing to be turned at substantially any angle and to be supported in such position by gravity whereby the open face of the housing may be adjusted to direct the sound as desired. Consequently, the device may be mounted at any convenient point in the auditorium and then adjusted to secure a desired direction of sound, as well as to obtain the fullest advantage of the acoustic properties of the surroundings.

The modified form of structure shown in Fig. 4 is adapted for use where the desired manner of mounting the support does not permit the housing to be supported in the recess by gravity. In other words, it will sometimes be necessary to mount the support near or on the ceiling of the auditorium, or in some other position from which the sound is directed downwardly. In this form of structure, the spaced members 13 of the support depend from the base 12, the parts being shaped, as before, to define the spherical- 1y contoured recess. The spherical housing 11 is supported in the recess by such means as opposed trunnions 22 carried by the depending members 13. Consequently, when the assembly is properly mounted, the housing may be .pivotally adjustable relative to the support through a Wide arc to dispose the open face of the housing in any desired position.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a novel speaker unit and support therefor has been provided which is capable of being substantially universally adjusted to face the sound emission aperture of the speaker casing in any desired direction thereby enabling the operator to instantly adjust the device to meet the requirements of the particular locality in which it is mounted. Moreover, the present device is highly ornamental in appearance and the ornamentation thereof may be of a type which harmonizes with the decorative scheme of the a=uditorium. Hence, the present device is well adapted to be used in churches and similar buildings without detracting from the ap pearance thereof.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, I have shown in the drawings and will herein describe in detail the preferred em bodiment, but it is to be understood that I do not thereby intend to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but intend to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling with the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A supporting device for the speaker unit of a sound amplifying system comprising, in combination, an ornamental base having members extending therefrom, said base and said members being continuously recessed to form a spherically contoured sockst, and a spherically shaped housing for the mechanical parts of a speaker unit positioned in said recess. I

2. A supporting device for the speaker unit of a. sound amplifying system having, in combination, a support comprising a base having a pair of members diverging therefrom, said base and said members being fashioned to define a spherically contoured recess therebetween and a housing for the mechanical parts of a unit, said housing being substantially spherical in shape to fit within said recess in any relative position of adjustment, and having a sound emission opening therein adjustably directed by relative movement of said housing and support.

3. A supporting device for the speaker unit of a sound amplifying system comprising, in combination, an ornamental support including spaced members extending therefrom, said members on the intermediate portion of said support being recessed to form a spherically contoured recess, a spherically shaped housing for the mechanical parts of a unit positioned in said recess, and means for pivotally connecting said housing to said members for swinging adjustment relative to said support.

4. In a speaker unit, the combination of a substantially spherically shaped ornamented housing, and a supporting member in the form of an ornamental figure having a complementary recess therein to receive and support said housing for substantially universal adjustment.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature.

JOHN E. RIGALI. 

